AP Psychology — Unit 2: Cognition & Memory

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering all 105 key concepts from AP Psychology Unit 2 on Cognition and Memory.

Perception

Organizing and interpreting sensory information.

Bottom-up processing

Using external sensory information to perceive.

Top-down processing

Using prior knowledge and expectations to perceive.

Schemas

Mental frameworks that filter how we see the world.

Perceptual sets

Internal factors that influence perception.

Gestalt psychology

Principles explaining how humans organize perceptions.

Closure

Filling gaps to see a complete image.

Figure and ground

Separating an object from its background.

Proximity

Grouping objects that are close together.

Similarity

Grouping objects that look alike.

Attention

Interaction between sensation and perception.

Selective attention

Focusing on specific information while ignoring others.

Cocktail party effect

Noticing your name in a distracting environment.

Inattention

Failing to notice something because attention is elsewhere.

Change blindness

Failing to notice changes in the environment.

Retinal disparity

Difference between images projected onto each retina.

Convergence

Merging of retinal images by the brain.

Monocular depth cues

Depth cues that work with one eye.

Relative size

Smaller-looking objects appear farther away.

Texture gradient

Distant textures appear less detailed.

Linear perspective

Parallel lines appear to meet in the distance.

Interposition

An object blocking another appears closer.

Visual perceptual constancies

Perceiving objects as unchanged despite visual changes.

Concepts

Mental groupings that form the basis of thought.

Prototypes

Ideal example of a particular concept.

Assimilation

Taking in new information without changing a schema.

Accommodation

Changing a schema to incorporate new information.

Algorithms

Trying all possible solutions until the correct one is found.

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts used to make judgments.

Representative heuristic

Judging based on resemblance to a typical example.

Availability heuristic

Judging based on the first example that comes to mind.

Mental set

Relying on previously successful experiences when deciding.

Priming

Prior experiences influencing a decision.

Framing

Surrounding circumstances influencing a decision.

Gambler's fallacy

Believing past random outcomes affect future ones.

Sunk-cost fallacy

Continuing because of previously invested time or resources.

Executive functions

Processes used to plan, organize, and achieve goals.

Creativity

Generating novel ideas and engaging in new ways of thinking.

Divergent thinking

Generating many possible ideas or solutions.

Convergent thinking

Narrowing ideas to find one correct solution.

Functional fixedness

Difficulty seeing new uses for familiar objects.

Explicit memory

Memory that is easier to describe or explain.

Episodic memory

Explicit memory for personal events and experiences.

Semantic memory

Explicit memory for facts and knowledge.

Implicit memory

Memory that is more challenging to describe.

Procedural memory

Implicit memory for procedures and processes.

Prospective memory

Memory related to future actions.

Long-term potentiation

Synaptic connections strengthen with frequent activation.

Working memory model

Model of working memory interacting with several components.

Working memory

Primary memory system that processes information dynamically.

Central executive

Coordinates processing in working memory.

Phonological loop

Working memory component for verbal and sound information.

Visuospatial sketchpad

Working memory component for visual and spatial information.

Multi-store model

Memory passes through sensory, short-term, and long-term stores.

Sensory memory

Brief storage of incoming sensory information.

Iconic memory

Visual sensory memory.

Echoic memory

Auditory sensory memory.

Short-term memory

Temporary storage of information.

Long-term memory

Long-lasting storage of information.

Automatic processing

Encoding information without conscious effort.

Effortful processing

Encoding information through conscious effort.

Levels of processing model

Memory is encoded through structural, phonemic, and semantic levels.

Structural encoding

Encoding based on how information looks.

Phonemic encoding

Encoding based on how information sounds.

Semantic encoding

Encoding based on the meaning of information.

Encoding

Getting information into memory.

Mnemonic devices

Strategies that help encode information into memory.

Method of loci

Mnemonic technique using familiar locations to remember information.

Chunking

Grouping information into meaningful units.

Hierarchies

Organizing information into categories and levels.

Spacing effect

Spacing learning affects encoding and memory consolidation.

Massed practice

Learning information all at once.

Distributed practice

Learning information spread out over time.

Primacy effect

Remembering items at the beginning of a list.

Recency effect

Remembering items at the end of a list.

Storage

Retaining information in memory.

Maintenance rehearsal

Repeating information to prolong storage.

Elaborative rehearsal

Connecting information to meaning when rehearsing.

Highly superior autobiographical memory

Exceptionally strong memory for personal life events.

Autobiographical memory

Memory for events and experiences from your own life.

Amnesia

Memory impairment or memory loss.

Retrograde amnesia

Difficulty remembering information from before memory loss.

Anterograde amnesia

Difficulty forming new memories after memory loss.

Alzheimer's disease

Condition associated with impaired memory processes.

Infantile amnesia

Inability to remember early childhood experiences.

Memory retrieval

Process of accessing stored information.

Recall

Remembering information without cues.

Recognition

Remembering information using retrieval cues.

Context-dependent memory

Better retrieval in the same environment where learning occurred.

Mood-congruent memory

Better retrieval when in the same mood as during learning.

State-dependent memory

Better retrieval in the same physical state as during learning.

Retrieval practice

Practicing remembering information to improve retrieval.

Testing effect

Testing yourself improves memory retrieval.

Metacognition

Thinking about and monitoring your own thinking.

Forgetting curve

Forgetting happens rapidly at first, then levels off.

Encoding failure

Forgetting because information was not properly encoded.

Interference

Other information makes memories difficult to retrieve.

Proactive interference

Older information interferes with remembering newer information.

Retroactive interference

Newer information interferes with remembering older information.

Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

Knowing information but temporarily being unable to retrieve it.